Appeals court limits scope of law barring pot prosecutions

A U.S. appeals court says a law that bans the Justice Department from prosecuting some medical marijuana users and dispensaries does not apply to pot operations on federal land.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected an appeal by two men charged in federal court with growing marijuana in Northern California on property controlled by the Bureau of Land Management.

The 9th Circuit has previously held that Congress barred federal prosecutions of medical marijuana businesses in cases where no state laws were broken.

A three-judge panel of the court said Thursday, however, that lawmakers did not prevent the federal government from enforcing its marijuana law on federal land even when no state laws may have been violated.